Here are some exciting memories of Taiko. My first
one is that we had no clue what was going to
happen. Everyone was curious about it. When we got
to the classroom where the drums were I was
shocked. The first thing that Esther said to us was
"Ohayo gozaimasu." None of us had a clue what that
meant. Esther also taught us how to hold the bachi,
drum sticks, and bend our knees. Bending our knees
was a problem. The class including myself didn't
want to. If we held the bachi with our thumbs she
would make sure we would know. Many of us didn't
know what kind of music we were going to be
playing. The words that we learned were bye and
begin. A thanks is Arigato. Sei No means begin. We
also learned how to count to 10 in Japanese.
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In Taiko we learned a lot of self-discipline. As in
keeping the right speed, having self-control, and
having teamwork. I think that teamwork is very
important in Taiko. Without that we wouldn't be
able to perform. Another important one is keeping
your own positions. That goes for not worrying
about our friends.
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My favorite drums to play were the big ones. I
liked the big sound. The biggest drum could fit
three people playing on it. The rest only fit about
two. All of the drums were kind of heavy. Pushing
them wasn't too bad, but picking them up was a lot
worse.
In the middle of Taiko we
made masks for our performance. The first thing we
did was put baby smelling Vaseline on our face. It
was very stinky. Then we put this wet plaster on
our face. It felt loose but it was on our faces
pretty tight. Then we painted them. All of them
were painted with red. They looked cool. We all
wore them for our performance.
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I bet you're probably wondering who our teacher
was. Her name is Esther Vandecar. She was
excellent. Her personality was funny, fun, and
willing. She never would give up. If the class
messed up she would find any and every way to help.
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Esther shared some stories. One of them was how
Taiko began. She said that they didn't play with
bachi, they would use their hands.
Esther Vandecar went to
Japan for five years to learn how to play Taiko.
She said that she enjoys going to schools and
teaching kids. She is an excellent
player!
When the class began
taking classes everyday we felt different. In a way
it felt weird but anxious. I had no clue what was
going to happen, but I wanted to play. I didn't
really feel unsure, because I knew if I couldn't
play I could get help. Going to practice everyday
felt different. There is only one reason why. We
have never skipped writing in class for a whole
month. That was very unusual.
I didn't know a lot of
stuff when I started. I knew how to beat on a drum.
Beating to Esther meant mud. The only thing that I
really knew was it would be fun!
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I think everyone was very nervous. There were 3
reasons why. At first we didn't know how to play. I
didn't think it would be easy myself. Also everyone
was very embarrassed. We weren't sure of what
Esther would think of us. The class thought it was
fun but we weren't actually sure what was going to
happen. Before we started taking lessons, we
thought that the drums would be like a normal drum,
but maybe not so big. I didn't think that there was
going to be that many either.
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In Taiko everything was different. We thought
right. The playing was different, the rules were
different, and of course a different
culture.
As we started to learn
the whole class felt more comfortable. Through the
days I became more willing. I tried knew stuff.
After the class started learning songs we weren't
as nervous. Well, maybe just a little because of
the performance but not much.
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As we were learning Taiko we found out that there
was more to it than just playing. That means that
you just can't play and hope that everyone will
play the same. It is called teamwork. You have to
have that or you just fall apart. You also have to
learn to have fun. If you don't have fun then you
don't learn.
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We also learned that everyone makes mistakes.
Nobody is perfect. That kind of goes along with not
being in charge. Some people thought that they were
the teachers. Everyone learned that there were two
teachers. Mr. Lake and of course Esther.
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About three weeks after we started we got a lot
better. All though there was a lot of competition
and we rushed. In competition I mean that everyone
had to play as good as someone else. Rushing was
the biggest problem. One person would rush then the
whole class would.
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In Taiko we learned to have a lot of
responsibility. We needed to have it because the
drums were a very big responsibility. The whole
class learned to have self-discipline. That is very
important.
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Everyday before Taiko we did exercises. We jogged
to Taiko. Then we did wrist exercises. After that
we stretched our legs. Exercising is very important
because you can hurt yourself.
When Taiko ended I felt
very sad. I wanted to cry. So did my friends. I
will always have the memories.
I began playing our songs
on anything in front of me. If it was a pencil,
chair, laundry basket, or even a coffee table I
would play.
The class was very
anxious. We were told that we might have a chance
to play again. Well, it turns out that we do, on
Martin Luther King Day.
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The most important things that I learned were that
practice makes perfect. That goes for everything in
life. You also have to be willing in order to
learn. A lot of things in life take teamwork to be
great. Taiko was a great example of teamwork.
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When it was over I thought that we did an excellent
job! We all learned how to play in a short length
of time. After our performance I knew I could play.
I was proud of the class and myself. We all had fun
and are happy to play again!
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These are some of the things that I remember most
Here is a little one...
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About 2 weeks before the performance we were told
to look for a white sheet. Esther was going to make
headbands with our names in Japanese. Everyone wore
them. We all felt like karate kids. All of the
girls were worried about our hair being messed up.
All of us were asking Esther if we had ours on
right. We never knew how to put them on.
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Another thing that I remember is the beginning of
Taiko. Everyone was shy and then we all became
comfortable. When you think back to the very
beginning of Taiko, and compare it to now, we have
grown a lot. The feeling that you get when you
think about it is great! My second biggest memory
that I have is the performances. It was so
exciting. Some of us were nervous. The best song to
perform was "Silk Daiko" which means moving through
the drums. Five of us were picked to do the moving.
After the class performed then the five performed
alone. That was exciting to hear and do. It felt
very weird just with five though.
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My most favorite memory is Esther. She was an
excellent teacher, one of the best. Her personality
was great. It was positive. Esther was an excellent
Taiko player. Esther Vandecar shared with us an
excellent memory!
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